Last Thursday night the one and only Cosmo Jarvis played a very entertaining set to an enthusiastic Corner Hotel crowd. It had been just a few months since the UK musician last toured Australia, only this time he brought a full band down with him, which added a lot of texture and power to his live show. This gig was a whole different beast to his earlier acoustic set at the comparatively tiny Pure Pop Records Courtyard, yet it was still full of the typical and exuberant Cosmo Jarvis flourishes and trademarks, and made for a night of fantastic music.

Over the weekend Harvest Festival solidified its place as the best single-day music festival in Australia, bar none. Take a phenomenal lineup with zero filler and consisting mostly of bands who haven’t toured Australia in the last five years, add an idyllic location and a chilled crowd, and take away the organisational issues that plagued last year, and you have basically the perfect day.

Cosmo Jarvis played a wonderful acoustic set last evening in the idyllic surrounds of the iconic Pure Pop Courtyard to a rapt crowd that spilled into the record store itself and the street beyond. All the way from the UK, it seemed a pity that Cosmo was only playing this one show in Melbourne, but thankfully he will be returning in December with his band to play more venues, and given his performance at Pure Pop it’s not hard to see most of the audience returning to see him again.

On Friday night Icelandic band Of Monsters And Men played their first ever show in Melbourne to a rapt and sold out crowd at the Corner Hotel. Their set was so consistently strong that it beggared belief coming from a band who have only released one album, and the high points of the night stand out as some of the most enjoyable times I’ve had at a gig so far this year.

There’s only so much I can say about a Georgia Fair live show that I haven’t already said, given that I think I’ve seen them play nearly ten times now. But the fact that I still really enjoyed Thursday night’s show at The Toff despite that fact shows just how good they are, and also just how much they’ve grown as a band over the last year.

If church is always as enjoyable as it was last Wednesday night then I’ve been missing out all my life. Lisa Mitchell and Georgia Fair put on a great show, but it really was the unusual venue that turned this from what would have been a couple-of-times-a-year experience to one that felt truly special. St Michael’s Church deceptively appeared as if it were designed for this kind of thing, and boasted great acoustics, a perfect balcony, and even a makeshift stage. It provided an incredible backdrop for the night’s entertainment.

Contact

I can be reached at andpluckyourstrings@gmail.com. I cannot get around to all the music that I am sent but I will do my best. All music posted here is designed to promote artists, however will of course be removed upon request.